Setswana Wedding With A Beautiful Orchird & Rose Bouquet

You just never know who is around you. Ipeleng and her husband met each other at family gatherings(they are not blood-related) but never paid attention to each other. At one point they started talking and realised they genuinely liked each other. And the rest, as they say, is history. Although they spent a lot on decor and the wedding rings, Ipeleng says she can’t help but smile every time she looks at her finger. I think one lesson to take away from this wedding is to invest in at least one thing that you can wear/use again after the wedding. Here’s their story. ENJOY!

The proposal.Still waiting for a proposal (rolling eyes). A typical black man who made a promise that one day he will marry me on more than one occasion. I got tired of the comment and told him he should stop telling me and rather send his parent to ask for my hand in marriage from my parent. 7 years in dating he set a date to send his parents to talk to my parents; that was a day I took the whole marriage thing seriously.

The Planning Process

It was a fun journey, we had great support from family and friends. I pushed the boundaries (with parents and hubby) to see if I can finally have things my way and surprisingly I was allowed to do what I wanted to do J

Starting early and getting small things out of the way made things less stressful, we had reliable family and friends that we could assign tasks to and they delivered.

The Suppliers.We took chances with friends and friends of friends (lol) and family.

Décor and Makeup

The décor company and the makeup artist are from friendship circles and they were both doing their first weddings. I had faith in them due to the passion they have and after a number of trials, we were all in a comfortable space.

Photography and Band

The photographer was a recommendation from my mom, giving a “tender” to a church member and from the photographer we had a band recommendation. The secondary photographer was a friend’s sister.

Cake and Kiddies outfits

My aunt made our cake and the candy bar. My cousin made the kiddies outfits and the other cousin was responsible for the kiddies table.

Others

The rest were recommendations from friends and family.

Culture

Décor

I wanted a traditional wedding but also wanted something clean and classy, we added the traditional fabric on the décor for under plates and napkins.

Outfits

My first dress was a compromise to make my grandmother happy, so I added a traditional fabric (Toina) to the belt and the buttons at the back of the dress, I was free to do what I wanted to the second dress so I went full African print.

Hubby wore a waistcoat made on the traditional fabric.

The bridesmaid’s wore elegant and simple traditional dresses to highlight the traditional element.

Cake

I wanted the cultural elements in the cake but wanted to keep the elegance, so we used Toina on the bottom layer of the cake and we had two white and gold calabashes. The calabash cakes were for handing over to our in-laws as a sign that we will keep providing for them.

Most Memorable Moment

Patlo –I don’t know what you call that in English. Seeing people who raised you proud of the milestone, the blessings and the joy on their faces way beyond this world.

The welcoming from my in-laws was heart-warming and comforting – that feeling of saying I am not lost.

The Dress

I always wanted a mermaid dress and I had ideas of where I will add the traditional element to the dress, but fortunately I had a wise maid of honour who advised me to try on different dresses to find a dress that works for my body shape (she did not want to say tell me that mermaid will not work she wanted me to see it myself – hiding face), on the first fitting it was evident that I was not built for that dress and a ball gown was looking better – But I did not like the idea of mixing a ball gown with a traditional fabric (the concept is a bit overdone and I was not creative enough to come up with a fusion of the two in a settle manner).

A few months later I went back to the bridal shop with my bridesmaid, she saw the dress and said – that is your dress. Unfortunately, the shop did not have options to add details to the dress (you buy what you see). A friend (maid of honour) referred me to a designer.

I shared the concept with the designer, she was a bit uncomfortable with mixing materials, but when I did my final fitting she was proud of the output.

When I did the first fitting I could tell I was going to make a beautiful bride – at that time the dress was about 60% complete but I could easily visualise the final product because it was a simple dress – I could not see how someone would get it wrong (hiding face)

Savings and Splurges

Invested in a ring (I got my dream ring, exactly what I wanted with an infinity sign)

We spent a lot on the venue and décor. I fell in love with the venue the first time I saw it and I was not willing to compromise on it.

I did my own stationary with a help of colleagues, which came as a saving.

Advice to future brides and grooms.Have fun. It is your day make your own rules.

Looking Forward To

An adventures life – Creating new experiences, falling in love with each other over and over again.

Putting efforts together, having someone to go home to, growing together and extending our family.